Hip-hop historian and self-proclaimed “raptivist” Boots Riley is a respected expert on sociology and American culture, and he can hold forth on topics ranging from the origins of East Coast vs. West Coast rivalries (public transportation, he has said, is the main factor in the difference in styles) to his early opposition to the war, dating back to the bombing of Afghanistan. Here’s a guy who knows all the options in stereo hookups, from the 1980s to today, and precisely how those components affect the music being played out of your car—which in itself makes a big contribution to the sound of the streets. He’s also served on committees like the Progressive Labor Party, the International Committee Against Racism and the Women’s Economic Project, proving that he’s not interested only in a personal social agenda. Riley has had his finger on the pulse since coming of age in Oakland, a hotbed of social and political upheaval in the 1960s and 1970s that maintains that reputation to this day through the continued efforts of natives like Riley. Since starting the Coup in the early 1990s with DJ Pam the Funktress, Riley has seen more than a fair share of controversy—most notably with the eerily prescient album cover for 2001’s Party Music (75 Ark). It depicted the twin towers exploding in clouds of black smoke, with Boots right there in front, holding a detonator. The label yanked the record immediately to revamp the cover art, and the album went on to be named “Best Rap Album of the Year” by both Rolling Stone Magazine and the Village Voice. Absurd right-wing accusations of ties to Al Qaeda followed the Party Music debacle, and songs like “5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO” probably didn’t help matters, but the group came through fairly untarnished and has since maintained a steadfast refusal to tone it down. On the heels of the latest release, Pick a Bigger Weapon (Epitaph, 2006), Boots and the Coup come through town as part of the Not Your Soldier tour, which includes info on youth activism and how to take precautions against military recruiters. Onstage support comes from Xnow the Last MC and Milkfat.

What better way to help your neighbors than with good music, good people and good times at Beatfest 2006? The Buffalo Environmental Action Team (where Beatfest gets its name) will host its second annual festival this Saturday to benefit PUSH, People United for Sustainable Housing, a grassroots organization working to rebuild the impoverished neighborhoods of Buffalo’s West Side. True to its name, Beatfest will be full of bluesy rhythms and hot beats from the likes of the Jony James Blues Band (pictured), the Todd Eberwine Band, Pseudo-Slang, Alex Mead, Gr& Phee, [ONE] and DJ Cutler. Along with music for those in need, participants with needy souls are welcome to camp out on the grounds, fish, canoe and kayak to their heart’s content.

It’s easy to forget that the air around is a great swirl of transmitted waves, from radio signals to the airwaves made by our cell phones. I’d imagine that if you could plug antennae into your head, at any given time you’d hear three different broadcasts of Toto’s “Africa” and perhaps pick up Aunt Millie complaining long distance about her arthritis to Uncle Skip.

Not to be encouraging needless displays of egotism in Buffalo’s longest-lived public access host, but it might not have been a bad idea for local production company No Budget Films to have called their new effort Greg Sterlace’s Sweet Jesus, as opposed to simply Sweet Jesus. That would serve as both promotion and warning to evangelicals who might be expecting the wrong thing.